A Lifetime of Peace and Care - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: A Husband’s Embrace

In order to write screenplays and also as a means of entertainment, Gu Tingchuan had tried many things that others would not touch in their lives, such as long distance sea-travel and driving off-road vehicles across the desert. However, never had he tried a balloon stepping games, much less at an elementary school.

Yi Ran stood by his side and asked the staff to tie their two foot together with a rope. Gu Tingchuan suddenly covered her hand with his own warm one and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Be careful, don’t fall.”

Gu Tai, who was standing to the side, rolled his eyes. Was this public display of affection really okay? Very annoying.

Director Gu straightened his body and took off his coat, exposing a thin t-shirt and casual pants, which made him look surprisingly lively. This, combined with his pale skin, made him looked as if he was only in his twenties. At this moment, he unexpected looked like an actor in an idol drama but with the calm aura of a director.

There were some teachers and parents nearby who would stop to cast a curious look at him, and those who recognized him were even more reluctant to leave.

Yi Ran couldn’t help but be in high spirits, especially after seeing Gu Tingchuan with his face turned toward her, an earnest look in his eyes. She once more thoroughly warned, “Be careful of your feet. I might step on it.”

He felt her body moving against his side. Because of their uncoordinated movements, he released her hand and immediately wrapped his arm around the back of her waist. Yi Ran instantly received an electric shock and her body shook slightly, even as the undercurrents between them became even more intense.

From the very beginning, he held her tightly without any signs of wanting to release her.

As Yi Ran was fully enjoying her work and secretly cultivating good feelings with her husband, Guan Yilu hurriedly ran over from the other side of the crowd. She saw Yi Ran at a glance, and because she was in a hurry, she didn’t think too much. She said, “Not good, Yi Ran. Something happened!

Yi Ran missed a beat and asked her, “What happened?”

Guan Yilu was already sweating anxiously, but when she saw that Gu Tingchuan and Yi Ran were tied together, she froze and quickly rationalized her thoughts before saying, “Hao Ziyue pushed Jia Jia. She hit her head, and now a lot of blood are coming out…”

For a moment, Yi Ran’s eyes saw black. After enduring the two-second dizziness, she silently lowered her upper body and began to scramble to undo the knots at their feet. Because she was so flustered and distressed, she only wanted to quickly dismantle the knot and go see how the girl was doing.

Gu Tingchuan frowned and, blocking her hand, said in a serious and gentle voice, “Don’t move. Let me solve it.”

As she waited for him, she looked anxiously at Teacher Guan. “What happened?”

Even though Hao Ziyue loved trouble, he had never done such an excessive act to a girl before.

Guan Yilu glanced at Gu Tai and then at Director Gu, who was behaving so intimately with Yi Ran earlier. She was still shocked and currently didn’t have much time to process it. She went to Yi Ran and whispered in her ear, “I heard that it was for Gu Tai. Jia Jia fought with Hao Ziyue over Gu Tai’s sportswear, and now she is being sent to the hospital.”

For the first time in Yi Ran’s teaching career, she encountered such an accident and felt very uncomfortable in her heart. The girl was Jia Jia, the same little girl who had came up to whisper to Yi Ran last time in the corridor. She knew that the little girl trusted her, and she couldn’t bear that the child was now suffering such injuries.

She immediately said, “I’ll also go to the hospital for a look.”

Gu Tingchuan saw she was anxious and babbling. His deep black eyes seriously looked into her eyes. He said in a soft murmured, “Don’t worry. The female student’s parents are there, and her class teacher is also there. If Teacher Yao had already left, then you’ll need to stay here.” With these words, his long fingers finally untangled the rope at their feet.

Gu Tingchuan’s gentle and magnetic voice finally calmed Yi Ran’s nerves. She took a deep voice and gradually recovered her calmness.

He straightened and proposed, “If you want to go, we’ll take my car. I’ll accompany Gu Tai for the rest of the games, and when it’s over, I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

Yi Ran noticed Guan Yilu’s shocked expression and finally remembered some matters. She hurriedly asked, “Mr. Gu, don’t you have to return to the company?”

Gu Tingchuan smiled helplessly and had to cooperate with her acting. He naturally said, “Anyway, Teacher Yi shouldn’t be too polite.”

Gu Tai was no fool. He had already guessed that what had happened was because of his matter. Wrinkling his face, he looked at the several adults anxiously and pulled his uncle’s sleeve

Gu Tingchuan lightly touched his forehead and softened his voice as he spoke to his nephew, “Don’t bother the adults. Later, I’ll let the driver take you back to wait at home.”

……

Jia Jia’s parents sent the child to a hospital not far from the gym.

Yi Ran drank a handful of cold water and then went to the bathroom to wash her face. After wiping off the water, the whole person felt quite calm.

After she came out, she inquired around and learned that Hao Ziyue was sitting alone on the corner of a staircase, completely ignored by everyone.

When Yi Ran walked by, Hao Ziyue’s defense mentality kicked in and he moved his body to the side. She smiled and took a seat next to him.

“The teacher heard that your dad hit you a few days ago, didn’t he?”

The boy hesitated, not expecting that this would be the first thing she would mention.

“But I did not expect you to learn this trick from your dad. Hao Ziyue, do you still think that you can solve the problem with violence?”

Yi Ran couldn’t be partial to this matter because of her preference for Gu Tai. She still wanted to work hard to maintain the rational attitude of a teacher and to guide this elementary student who had been misbehaving for awhile now.

“You didn’t deliberately push Jia Jia, did you?”

Hao Ziyue’s face turned a deep shade of red, and his eyes held traces of crying. But, he still didn’t speak so Yi Ran continued, “I see that you always love to go to speak to Jia Jia. If you hate her, why do you keep looking for her?”

When he heard this sentence, he sifted slightly. She sighed and said, “No one is here now. Would you like to tell me why you did this?”

Hao Ziyue bit his lip fiercely and the flesh on his face shook slightly due to excitement. “Why does everyone like Gu Tai? Obviously, I haven’t done it, but Jia Jia accused me of making his clothes dirty. Teacher Yi, I was really anxious to push her, but I didn’t mean to make her fall.”

After saying this, the child began to weep helplessly. Yi Ran wrapped her arm around his shoulders and tried to comfort him.

Obviously, Yao Juan’s discussions with the child was starting to have an effect and his solid shell had melted by a lot.

“I didn’t paint Gu Tai’s clothes … Do you believe me?”

On the one hand, she could make a rough guess whether the child was or was not lying. But, at this moment, Hao Ziyue’s heart was too fragile. She thought that, at this point, it wouldn’t do to place too much responsibility on him.

“I believe you. There may be some misunderstandings.”

Realizing that the teacher trusted him, Hao Ziyue’s tears continuously streamed down his face, and his inner barrier completely broke down.

“At home, mom and dad never cared about me, and they also don’t come to my school activities. I don’t know what to do, and I don’t want to bully them, but….no one really wants to play with me…”

“The teacher will help you solve this problem. You have to believe the teacher. Just promise me that you won’t be rough on anyone in the future. Can you?”

Yi Ran comforted Hao Ziyue for a while. Then, Gu Tingchuan arrived in front of them and looked at her with the corners of his mouth slightly tilted. “It’s almost time to go.”

“Hao Ziyue, the teacher is going to see Jia Jia now. We will apologize to her when we see her next time. The teacher will help you. We will solve this accident correctly. Alright? ”

Hao Zi nodded. Yi Ran still couldn’t help but worry about him so she called Guan Yilu to come to watched over him.

When she raised her head, she unexpectedly saw strip of light illuminating the outlines of the man in front of her. His shirt was slightly opened, revealing the graceful lines of his clavicle.

Gu Tingchuan’s eyes were undecipherable, yet still piercing and bright. It seemed that there was no part of his aspects that was wasted. From appearance to talents, he truly received the best of Heaven’s will.

……

It took about ten minutes by car to reach their destination. Yi Ran was anxious throughout the whole journey to the pediatric clinic at the hospital.

Yao Juan was already waiting for them in the hallway. Seeing their arrival, a smile appeared on his face, and he sighed. “The doctor had already taken Jia Jia to the cleaning room. The back of her head required three stitches, and they had just finished so she is currently resting…. Fortunately, it’s just a minor trauma. ”

Yi Ran walked to the bench where the girl was sitting. Jia Jia’s cry was very loud, saying, “Mom, it hurts. It hurts…”

Yi Ran’s tongue had a faint taste of bitterness, and the soreness of her heart couldn’t be clearly expressed. She couldn’t help but somewhat blame herself for this matter.

She wasn’t strong enough and couldn’t do anything by herself. When faced with evil forces, she couldn’t even do anything with her own bare hands.

She appeased Jia Jia and talked to her parents again. Then she saw the empty mineral water bottle in their hands and said, “Do you want to drink water? There is a vending machine outside. I’ll buy it for you. Just wait. ”

Despite their polite assertions otherwise, Yi Ran quickly turned to buy water for them. Gu Tingchuan followed a few steps after her and patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll go with you. ”

Yi Ran walked to the front of the vending machine, bowed her head, and gently covered her face with her hands. Although the face was silent, there seemed to be a crack in her heart.

Gu Tingchuan saw her in this state, and after some careful considerations, there was also a pinching sensation in his heart. After purchasing the water, he stopped to look at her and slowly said, “You can lean on your husband’s chest.”

After hearing this sentence, Yi Ran’s heart fiercely shuddered. With her head still lowered, she wanted to smile and pretend to be fine. Unexpectedly, Gu Tingchuan reached out and pulled her into his arms. She could only accept this embrace.

If Hao Ziyue had been educated earlier, perhaps today’s tragedy would not have happened. She felt really sorry toward Jia Jia, making her blame herself all the more. All kinds of complicated emotions were intertwined, and her whole heart was in a state of disorder.

It was rare Gu Tingchuan to be emotionally moved in this way.

If an actress was sad on set, he would only say, “You are being unsightly.”

But now, he took Yi Ran into his arms silently, and he could feel her tightly clutching at the clothes on his chest, her fingertips pressed hard together. He could even feel her warmth seeping into him through his clothes.

She lay all her sadness out in front of him, no longer hiding anything.

“I’m really useless…What kind of teacher am I….”

Gu Tingchuan comforted her in a low voice, each word was lyrical, sounding deeply moving to the fragility in Yi Ran’s heart. “You have done so well. You’re someone that people can believe in.”

He placed his fingers on the back of her neck. His small hand movements felt both strong and reliable as he slowly held her in the palm of his hand and against his heart. “And, you never let me down.”

The light outside filtered in through the window and shine on them, adding a bit of softness and haziness to their figures. With her mood stabilized, she was no longer so pessimistic. Only, her eyes looked as if they had been washed with rain, exuding a dazzling clarity.

Gu Tingchuan’s soft chuckle was loud in her ear, and his every words echoed in the depths of her heart. “Soft bones, soft body, soft heart, but still putting on a strong appearance with teeth.”

Yi Ran’s cheeks flushed and she dared not raise her eyes to look at the other party’s face. Taking the water bottle from him, she turned to go back.

Just now, his embrace was so irresistible, his breath lingering on the side of her neck, his arms wrapping around all her soft parts, making her feel very much at ease. This seemed to be the first time…

Looking up, she found that Yao Juan was standing by the corner, looking at them with some embarrassment.

Just now, he had looked at the young couple from a distance, hugging and whispering intimately, and realized that there was really no room for him.

Yao Juan pushed his glasses up and tried to ignore Gu Tingchuan’s gaze. He directly said to Yi Ran, “Jia Jia’s parents wanted to speak to Hao Ziyue’s parents on Monday. They also wanted due compensation, despite knowing that they might meet the same fate as last time, with that family whose son had received a broken leg and hand.”

Before Yi Ran could speak, she heard Gu Tingchuan make a rare comment, “Next week, I’ll have my assistant call Hao Ziyue’s mother.”

Yao Juan seemed to disagree with his way of handling matters. Facing Gu Tingchuan’s cold eyes, he said, “Teachers will have their own ways.”

“I respect your approach.” Gu Tingchuan first expressed his attitude, then he turned to look at the serious Yi Ran. Smiling slowly, he said, “But the teachers are facing this type of obstinate ‘monster parent.’ You’re at your wit’s end. Just consider this so an emergency measure. I’ll just be saving you some trouble.”

Gu Tingchuan gracefully looked at Yao Juan. On his forehead was a bit of friendliness as well as a sense of alienation. “Besides, the Hao background is not so innocent. Last time, you just only talked to them, right? This time, they need to be reminded to not always act so excessively.”

Yi Ran hugged the water bottle to her chest and lowered her head. The fact that this man will directly help was causing her mood to become less and less serene. She did not even dare to look at the handsome contours of his face.

Someone once said that the mind’s burden is the most difficult thing to hide in the world.

Even if you cover your mouth, it will show up in your eyes and escape.